Two Toned Colors
by HikuiSasayaki
Summary: Sasaki Haise begins to realize, that his nightmares are more than just imaginative horrors. Struggling to remember his past, yet still working hard for CCG, the half ghoul stumbles upon a blond haired male, who seems quite familiar...
1. Prologue

Blood…it was everywhere, no matter which way he turned. It was like an everlasting bucket of red paint, splashed messily within the corners of his mind. The screams he heard were ear piercing, breaking him a little. For a brief moment, questions hit him: who was screaming? Who was crying? Who was…_laughing?_ Turning again, he found no one but himself, slowly crumbling to pieces. He knew that it was him…him who screamed, him who cried and him who laughed, like the mad man he was.

The sound of cracking bones could be heard.

"What is 1000 minus 7?" His voice rasped out as he bend his own finger. He heard the bristling sound of a centipede in his head while he continued to cackle, the tears spilling from his eyes.

_"…-san!"_

Who was that? Was someone calling him?

_He was so fucked up._

_"..Sassan!"_ The voice continued, and he raised an eyebrow. Sassan?

_What was his name anyway?_

"Sassan, wake up!"

"…"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sasaki Haise's eyes shot open, blurry from the tears he had wept. Looking frantically around, his eyes adjusted and landed upon a familiar face. The face of Shirazu Ginshi, who by all means looked quite worried. Sasaki immediately knew that he was in his room at CCG, having had a nightmare that seemed loud enough to have woken the squad leader...Really, the boy's ears were too sensitive.

Shaking his head, he sat up and rubbed the sleep and tears from his eyes.

"Sassan…" Shirazu said quietly.

Haise held up a hand.

"I'm fine…Just a…nightmare."

"Yeah, it must have been one hell of a nightmare…Sassan, you were cracking your fingers and counting down from 1000…It honestly freaked me out." Shirazu laughed nervously.

"I was…?" He began, shaking his head again and then continued;

"I'm not quite able to remember my nightmares once I wake up, but the feeling is always there afterwards. _The crippling sound echoes in my head, as if something is crawling in there…"_ Sasaki mumbled, the last part mostly to himself.

"…" Ginshi honestly had no idea how to respond to that. He had woken up to the sound of their mentor once again having those dreadful nightmares that plagued him, and he couldn't help but curse his acute hearing.

Sasaki smiled half-heartedly.

"Never mind…I was speaking to myself. It would be best if you went back to bed, Shirazu. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"…But, Sassan-!" The Quinx started.

"Really, Shirazu, I'm fine…" The half ghoul said, closing his eyes as he absentmindedly touched his chin.

The squad leader knew that Sasaki wasn't okay, but there was nothing he could do. With that in mind, he reluctantly trudged out of Haise's room and back to his own. He would have to bring it up another time.

Sighing, the artificial one eyed ghoul ran a hand through his two-toned hair. In a way, what he said wasn't a lie. Most of the time, his dreams were vague and hard to recall, but this one was crystal clear. He shivered as he recalled the feeling of something in his ear and he unconsciously cracked his index finger. He raised an eyebrow at his action. Since when had that become a habit?

Knowing full well that he couldn't go back to sleep, he rose from his bed to find a book he could read. It was once again going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 1

Shirazu trudged out of his room and into the living room, his feet sloppily dragging his tired body along. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, and he was certain that their mentor had gotten even less. True to his thought, the sight of a tired Sasaki making breakfast greeted him.

He had dark rings under his eyes, which was a clear indication of his tormented and sleepless nights. Haise hadn't noticed the squad leader's presence, not even as he pulled a chair out and sat at the table. He could faintly hear the sound of Mutsuki getting out of his room and the light snoring of Saiko.

_'Typical'_, he thought. _'Where did all that_ 'I'll work hard!' _enthusiasm go?'_

He grumbled. _'Should have known better, I guess…'_

Focusing his attention on their mentor once again, he cleared his throat.

"Morning, Sassan!" He tried to sound cheerful. In truth, he was quite worried for the man's health.

This caught the half ghoul's attention, and Sasaki forced a smile.

"Oh, Shirazu. Good morning! You're up quite early…I didn't even finish making your breakfast yet!" Haise said, actually sounding surprised.

"Don't sweat it, Sassan. I just couldn't sleep anymore. What are you making?" As he asked this, Mutsuki appeared and walked over to them, taking a seat opposite of Shirazu. He looked well-rested.

"Good morning, Sasaki, Shirazu." Mutsuki greeted.

They both returned the greeting, and Sasaki turned to look at the squad leader.

"I'm making eggs and bacon. It should be _egg-cellent_!"

The two Quinxes cringed.

"Sassan, you really need to work on those puns..." Ginshi mumbled as Mutsuki chuckled. The half ghoul pouted.

A few minutes later, Sasaki came over to the table with their breakfast and put the plates down in front of them. He had made black coffee for himself, and as usual, didn't partake in any of the meals he made.

Their mentor took a large gulp of his coffee as he grabbed some documents from his briefcase. He sorted them out and found the one he was looking for, and then proceeded to read. Shirazu and Mutsuki exchanged glances.

"Sassan, about the night-"

"Not now, Shirazu…" Haise cut him off, not looking up from the documents.

A few seconds passed by in silence when their mentor sighed. Looking up, he brushed his hand through his hair and unconsciously touched his chin with the other.

"I'm fine…really." He smiled, yet that didn't convince them.

"Sassan…"

"Besides," Sasaki began "today is a busy day. We'll get our new assignment, and I have to read these documents through before today's meeting at S3. Akira will have my head if I'm not prepared!" He told them.

"Oh, so we'll get our new case today…" Mutsuki said, glad for the change in topic.

"Yes. I'll brief you on it once I get the details myself. The only information I have on the case, as of now, is that we'll be hunting down an A~ rated ghoul called "Story-teller". The ghoul is known for writing short stories with the blood of its victims, right next to the body of said victim. The stories mostly describe sick and gory descriptions of how the victim was tortured and eaten, down to the last detail." The half ghoul explained with a disturbed look on his face.

The Quinxes' faces were that of horror.

"That's brutal…" Shirazu commented. Mutsuki nodded, looking sick, presumably at the mental image he had.

"Indeed. We'll have to do our utmost best in this case. Teamwork will be a crucial point of accomplishing this."

"Of course, Sassan! I promise, as the squad leader, that we won't let you down!" Shirazu beamed.

Sasaki flashed him a genuine smile.

"I know you won't…"

Mutsuki couldn't help but smile at the sight. Ginshi beamed even more, if that was possible. His smile showed his shark-like teeth and he stood up from his chair, having eaten his breakfast. He began walking over to the stairs.

"Alright, I'll go wake up Saiko and drag that bastard Urie down! As the squad leader, that is part of my responsibility!" And with that, Shirazu spun up the stairs.

Haise and Mutsuki sweat dropped.

"He'll need all the luck in the world to get Saiko up…" the artificial one eyed ghoul mumbled.

"Though, he actually managed to do it once, so it wouldn't surprise me…I'm more concerned about him and Urie getting into a fight…again." He continued, sighing loudly. Mutsuki only nodded.

Finishing his coffee, Sasaki got up from his chair and pocketed the documents in his briefcase. Putting his coat on, Haise turned around to look at the only Quinx in the room. Mutsuki was almost done with his breakfast when he noticed the half ghoul's stare.

"Um, is something the matter, Sasaki?" He asked.

Said ghoul shook his head, smiling a bit.

"No, well…I forgot to give Shirazu an important message. I must really be out of it today, not exactly a good way to start everything."

Tooru felt a bit saddened as he noticed the dark rings under his eyes. Their mentor was looking quite tired lately…

"Don't worry about it, Boss…I can give the message to him?" The last part came out as a question without actually intending to.

Sasaki's smile brightened a bit.

"That would help a lot…Thanks, Mutsuki." Said Quinx returned the smile, gesturing for Haise to continue.

"I wanted to ask Ginshi to go to CCG's headquarters, at the Laboratory Division in the 1st ward. The files on our case and the ghoul "Story-teller" should be there, at the closed section. I was asked to go fetch them, but I am afraid that my time schedule doesn't allow me to do that…So I wanted him to get them in my stead. He should be allowed in there, as the squad leader of the Quinxes. It is important files we need for this case."

"Alright Boss, I promise to relay that message to him." Mutsuki told him.

"Thanks again, Mucchan…I'll be leaving now, I have a meeting in one hour." And with that, Sasaki walked out and closed the door behind him.

"…M-Mucchan…" The Quinx said, making a face at the nickname.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sasaki Haise let the light breeze of air hit him as he walked down the 20th ward, his mind refreshingly blank. Since he had finished reading the documents, he still had half an hour until the meeting began. Only after a few minutes of walking, he found himself near a playground and stopped abruptly.

The setting was of a child-friendly place, filled with some swings, a sandpit, a slide, and several other activities for kids to enjoy. It caught his eyes, but it somehow also made him feel nostalgic and sad. Haise had felt like that before, once when he had entered the Cafe known as 'RE'.

He shook the feeling away, taking a hesitant step forward. He felt the soft sand under his shoes as he slowly moved towards one of the swings. Taking a hold of it, he sat down and began to swing slowly. He felt both childish and foolish, yet not because he was a grown man playing on a playground (which, in itself, was an odd sight), but because it intensified his feeling of nostalgia; the feeling he was trying to stay away from.

He knew that those feelings were probably due to his lost memories. He wanted to remember, but he was scared of the results. Scared of disappearing, of being completely rid of the personality that he was today…was he still going to be 'him'?

"…Kane…ki?" Someone said slowly, making Haise turn his head to his right, his eyes landing upon a blonde young man…

There it was…that nostalgic feeling again. Only this time, it was ten times stronger. His heart shuddered, his mind going blank, unable to remember. He felt like he would burst from the emotions flowing through him, and it took all he had not to let a single tear fall. Why did he feel this way?

He studied the blonde man, just like the blonde studied him. The man was quite young, probably around Sasaki's age. He was a little taller than him, and his yellow hair reached his shoulders. He wore some casual clothes, which fit the man's image. He had a pair of orange headphones hanging around his neck, and his brown eyes looked oddly sad and…relieved?

The first thought that crossed Sasaki's mind was that this person reminded him of something…warm, friendly…like the sun. He had a sudden urge to grab that warmth.

"…Kaneki, man, is that really…you?" His voice sounded hoarse and strained, many emotions spilling from that simple question.

_'So, I'm not the only one who feels this way…'_ the half ghoul thought as he felt oddly relieved.

But that name again…why were people calling him Kaneki? Were they all from his past, the past he couldn't remember?

As that thought sunk in, Sasaki realized that, despite the confusion, this man knew his previous 'self'. Which, in actuality, both intrigued and terrified him. It didn't feel right…he should get going.

The blonde still had his eyes on Sasaki, the gaze familiar and longing. Sighing, the half ghoul stood up from the swing, dusting his coat from invisible dirt.

"…I'm sorry; you must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is not Kaneki…" As he said that, he began to walk away, ignoring the heartache it gave him in doing so.

The blonde spun around, taking a hold of Sasaki's shoulder. He flinched at the touch.

"W-wait, after hearing your voice, you really are…Kaneki. Man, I can't believe I got to see you again! You have no idea how happy I am to see you alive and well…Even…even if you don't remember me, as that seems to be the case…" He laughed lightly, an undertone of the sadness in it.

If possible, Sasaki's heart ached even more and he couldn't stop the tears that had threatened to fall. This surprised both himself and the blonde.

Said blonde's eyes widened, and a small smile slowly formed.

"Hey, Ken, don't cry…it's alright. I still can't believe it's really you…you look so different. But, in a good way…So, don't cry man! It hurts my poor, fragile heart~!" At this, the blonde made a bold move and hugged him.

Strangely enough, Sasaki didn't mind. Quite the contrary, he felt more safe, more relieved, and he found himself hugging the stranger-_'he wasn't a stranger'_-back.

"I-I don't know you, but I feel like I should...!" The artificial one eyed ghoul sobbed, his tears staining the man's shoulder.

"Shh, It's alright Ken, you always have it so rough…I want to help you, even if you don't know me. Even if you don't trust me…I always want to help you, even if it means that I have to build our relationship up from scratch…" The blonde said as he soothed Haise by rubbing his back, drawing circles with his thumbs.

"This time, I won't let you go…" He whispered, but the half ghoul managed to hear him.

"…Who are you?" Sasaki asked as his sobs died down.

"Huh, me? Bro, you hurt my feelings! I'm Nagachika Hideyoshi! Nice to meet you again!"

"H-Hide…?"


	3. Chapter 2

Nagachika Hideyoshi's eyes widened, feeling shocked. That shock was soon replaced by indescribable relief and happiness, and he couldn't help but smile broadly. The young man in front of him was definitely his best friend.

He knew that Kaneki had changed in both personality and appearance, he could tell that much just by glancing at the other, yet despite that, his features remained the same. His soft, youthful face along with those big, round eyes were still prominent. Kaneki's two toned hair was more curly than Hide could remember, but he was glad to note that his buddy's black hair was growing back. The domain color was still white, though, giving Kaneki a different look.

What Hideyoshi noticed immediately after was the clothes Kaneki wore. He knew that outfit. After all, Nagachika had been working around people who wore the same; he just couldn't believe his best friend was wearing it. The familiar coat which the latter had on told his mind one thing; Kaneki was a Dove, involved with the CCG. His heart clenched at the notion. Just more pain for his buddy to endure…what had the CCG done to him? And for that matter, how? What happened after he helped Kaneki in the sewers?

Shivering at the thought, Hide shook his head and looked into those tear-stained eyes, the gray orbs he knew all too well. It pained the blonde to see this much hurt and sadness present in those innocent eyes. Ken didn't deserve to be hurt like that…

"That's right buddy. I'm Hide. Do you remember?" The blonde asked after several minutes of silence. He had the slightest bit of hope when he heard Kaneki say his nickname, as if recognizing him.

Since his friend was involved with CCG, he had a vague idea of how Kaneki had lost his memories, just not the actual cause. Hideyoshi didn't know whether they had forcefully removed them or if it was something entirely different. Though, that was for another time to ponder.

"No, I…it just came to me, I'm sorry, but I really don't remember…" Wiping his eyes for any remaining tears, he let go of the blonde and slowly stood up, feeling quite embarrassed. Hide felt disappointed when the warmth of his best friend left him, wanting nothing more than to hug him again and never let go. His heart felt slightly broken when his hopes came crashing down, but he shouldn't have expected any less.

"Urgh, what has gotten into me? This is so embarrassing. Please excuse my breakdown…I mean, I don't even know you and here I am, bawling my face out…" Sasaki scratched the back of his neck, not sure of himself. This was all so weird and he had no idea why he reacted like that…

Wait, he had _one_ assumption, but he didn't want to think about it…didn't want to think about his past.

Hide let out a strained laugh, his smile more than pained. He looked sadly at the half ghoul, his eyes gaining a far-away look.

_"I will always lend a shoulder to you…"_ The blonde whispered, but knew that the latter heard him with his enhanced hearing.

"…" Sasaki looked down, feeling ashamed all of a sudden.

"Do I know you…? I mean, did I know you?" He found himself asking the blonde, taking a big step towards the unknown.

Hide merely smiled. That was enough of an answer to Sasaki. The feelings he had felt before were no doubt recognition to some extent.

Looking away, Haise sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, this is all a bit too much…I really have to go. But…perhaps we could meet again sometime, Nagachika?"

"Hide, call me Hide. And yes, I would very much love that. I'm sure you have much to look after, being in CCG and all. Tell you what, why don't we give each other our phone numbers?"

Sasaki narrowed his eyes.

"How did you know I work for CCG?" The half ghoul asked, wondering just how much this person knew about him…not to say his previous self. He felt frightened at the thought.

"Dude, the coat kind of gives it away. Besides, I used to work for CCG as well, first as a part-time job and then as an assistant. I quit all of that though." Hide said, blinking at his buddy.

Haise felt the urge to ask why he quit, but it wouldn't leave his mouth. Instead, he found himself nodding.

"I see…Well, I guess it won't hurt to exchange numbers." As Sasaki said this, Hide had whipped out his phone and was ready to dial as if his life depended on it. The half ghoul couldn't help but laugh at the others antics. Perhaps this person meant a lot to him…?

After they exchanged numbers, the two then stood and stared at each other, silence filling the air.

"Man, I really have a lot I want to say to you…but that's for another time." Hide broke the silence.

"Y-yeah…I look forward to it. I actually want to get to know you…again I suppose."

Hide smiled at that, his heart clenching a bit in both happiness and sorrow.

"See you later Kaneki."

With that, the blonde swiftly left the playground, walking his own way. Sasaki stared at him until he turned a corner and couldn't be seen any longer. Sighing, he looked at his watch and frowned. There were only ten minutes until the meeting began!

This was his cue to run.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Damn" Shirazu grumbled, walking towards the headquarters at Sasaki's request. He didn't mind retrieving the files on their case, but he was grumpy because he failed to wake Saiko up, and Urie had been his usual bastard self, not caring for anything he, the squad leader, said! It was frustrating!

Grumbling some more, Shirazu made it to his destination and headed for the Laboratory Division where the files awaited him. Once at the doors of the laboratory, he stated his ID and purpose to the guard and was only let in because he mentioned their mentor, Sasaki. This annoyed him as well, because Mutsuki said that his name alone would suffice. But that was not important.

He walked down some stairs and reached the room with all the files CCG had collected and began to search. It was a huge and dark room with several shelves upon shelves containing files. The room, though, was surprisingly clean and organized; several boxes planted upon each shelf. Nothing else decorated the room, making it quite gloomy and business-like.

Somewhere in this mass were the files he needed, but how to find them? Damn, he didn't know that. Sasaki must have forgotten to tell Mutsuki…The only way was to go through every shelf, which would take ages. He couldn't help but sigh as he started at the beginning.

He'd have to be careful not to look at files he weren't permitted to. There were a lot of dangerous information in here, and he knew it.

This was going to be a long search.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ugh, Akira sure can pack a punch…" Haise whined, rubbing his left side which was the unfortunate part of him that got hit. Akira had been enraged because he came fifteen minutes late, which he regretted immensely. It was awkward enough to enter the room with the meeting already begun. This really just wasn't his day.

Well, other than that, he had gotten the full story of their new case and how they should operate. It seemed that the case was more than he expected, and they might run into some trouble along the way. He would have to discuss this with his squad later on when they were all gathered.

Walking down the road towards his apartment, his thoughts wandered to a certain blonde. When being completely honest with himself, Sasaki wanted to be with Hide, to see him again and talk to him. He couldn't describe the feeling he got, but he felt drawn to that light Nagachika had…the half ghoul had had trouble concentrating at the meeting as their encounter was still fresh in his mind.

He found himself fumbling with his phone, picking it up from his pocket. He wanted to know this person…the person that knew so much about him. It was thrilling but horrifying at the same time. Would he recover his memories because of Hide?

Before he could stop himself, he had dialed Hide's number and the other end was calling. His breath got caught when he heard the happy and eager voice answer him.

"Hey man, took you long enough! I have been waiting for your call~!"

Sasaki was confused. It had only been two hours at most.

"Wh-what?" He found himself questioning.

"I'm just kidding! I'm glad you called."

"Oh, I guess I just got "ph_owned_"!" The artificial half ghoul replied, the pun slipping from his mouth without his permission.

"…" The other end suddenly got very quiet and Haise began to sweat from nervousness. Why of all the times did he have to-

His thoughts were interrupted by the roaring sound of Hide's laughter. His laughter sounded pure and genuine, and it warmed Sasaki's heart, suddenly feeling very relieved. He had found someone who liked his puns!

"That was an awesome pun! Way to go Ka-Sasaki!" Hide exclaimed, mirth in his voice.

"Eh, thanks Hide…I have more where they come from."

"I'm sure you do man, I've got a couple of my own as well." The blonde said.

Sasaki smiled.

"Really? I look forward to hearing them."

Hide laughed some more.

"So, what did you need buddy?"

Sasaki suddenly got more serious.

"Well, I was wondering if we could meet sometime. You know, so we could talk?"

"Are you asking me out on a date? Why I would love to! Where are you taking me~?" Hide asked with a mock-sweet tone.

"H-Hide! No, that's not what I-"

"I know. How about we meet tomorrow at a bookstore? What time would suit you?"

"Well, I'm actually free tomorrow, so anytime goes really." The half ghoul answered, still a bit flustered by the blonde's comment.

"Okay, how about 9AM?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." Sasaki said.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything buddy. Take care of yourself, will you?"

And with that, they exchanged goodbyes and hung up. Haise was feeling quite good after talking to his new-old-friend.

He was almost home.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Shirazu was beginning to see red. He hadn't found anything yet! All he had found were some solved cases and profiles on ghouls that weren't any of his business. And who knew how long he had been down here? Ginshi was at the middle shelf as of yet, rummaging through several stacks of papers and setting boxes aside. After he had gotten a throughout look at the content, he set the papers and boxes back on their place, standing up. He was just about to leave for the next shelf when something caught his eyes.

Looking back down at the previous shelf, he saw some papers that were whiter than the others, as if they were newer, if not the newest addition to the stack. This caught Shirazu's attention and he bent down to grab the bundle of papers. They were clipped together, making it easy to fetch.

Once he held the papers in his hands and his gaze landed upon the front cover, he nearly dropped the whole stack.

On the cover was a picture of a black-haired Japanese boy smiling, the face identical to someone he knew very well. Or thought he did.

He was looking at a black-haired Sasaki Haise who was obviously younger and much more innocent, he could tell just by looking. There was no doubt in Shirazu's mind, he would recognize that face anywhere. He just couldn't believe he was actually seeing this. Sasaki looked…happy, calm, shy and even nervous. His whole demeanor was gentle and it confused the squad leader to see their mentor like that. Like a kid…

The most surprising thing, though, was that on further inspection, this stack of paper were files on a ghoul…a ghoul called "Eyepatch" and "Centipede". And in the middle were two black lines along with the words;

_"Erased."_

"Erased?" Shirazu said out loud, not believing the words. On every file he had found, all the ghoul cases were marked with "Destroyed", not "Erased"…what was this?

"Ken Kaneki?"

Was that Sasaki Haise's past?

Shirazu had stumbled upon something very dangerous and clearly forbidden.

Looking around, even though he knew no one was there, he did something outrageous; he hid the files in his jacket, content on learning more…perhaps even tell the others.

What would this bring?


End file.
